Alan Brooke

Alan Brooke (23 July 1883-17 June 1963) was a Field Marshal of the British Army and Chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1941 to 1946, succeeding John Dill and preceding Bernard Montgomery.

Biography
Alan Brooke was born in Bagneres-de-Bigorre, France on 23 July 1883. He was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and he served in Ireland and India before serving with the British Army's artillery in France during World War I. In the Interwar period, he was heavily involved with the education of soldiers at the School of Artillery and the Imperial Defense College, and he also worked at the War Office before taking over the anti-aircraft corps in 1938. In 1940, he became commander of the British Expeditionary Force, and he oversaw the evacuation of the British troops at the Battle of Dunkirk at the start of World War II. He became Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1941 and Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee in 1942, and he had a large amount of influence over Winston Churchill. He supported the North African campaigns and those in southern Europe, and his plans led to the Germans diverting their troops away from the front lines, which ultimately led to victory. He retired from the army in 1946, and he died in Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, England in 1963 at the age of 79.